. >> reporter: for 83 years, hyannis port has been a place of retreat and renewal for america's greatest political dynasty. now they remember a patriarch, and this town remembers a friend. sam barber sold him paintings. >> i'm going to miss him terribly. i'm speechless. >> reporter: ted kennedy's father bought a cottage here in 1928, thinking it would be good for the kids' health. three decades later, ted's brothers john and robert purchased surrounding homes, creating this three acre property simply known as the compound. john is the editor of "the last lion." >> for years of his life, this was the home. this was the one home they kept returning to. they lived in new york, massachusetts, london, england, but for john, this was his anchor. >> reporter: the brothers played their famous games of touch football on the lawn here, training for the youngest brother, a star at harvard. >> i think this was the center of his young world. so many things happened here. certainly, in times of tragedy, this is where the kennedys gathered. >> reporter: a place of mourning too many times for the kenned